Letters 10 - 17 Summary

In Letter 10, Mirza writes to Usbek. He begs Usbek for an explanation of a statement Usbek made about justice before he left on his journey. In Letters 11 through 14 Usbek responds to Mirza's letter. In order to explain his statement Usbek writes out the text of a story of the Troglodytes that he hopes will make his point clear. This breed of man decides not to have rulers, but instead to act only in a way that benefits their own best interests. He tells Mirza there were only two families that survived this period of injustice and wickedness. These two families lived in harmony with each other in a secluded part of the country. These families multiplied into a whole country full of virtuous and loving people.

When nearby peoples saw how bountifully these people were living, they wanted to steal their...